The Jungle Book Themes

In several of the stories in The Jungle Book, Kipling emphasizes the various laws that govern the ecosystems where humans and animals live. This theme appears most prominently in the stories about Mowgli, especially the story “Kaa’s Hunting,” in which Baloo the Bear teaches Mowgli the Law of the Jungle and gets angry when Mowgli is uninterested in his lessons. Essentially, the Law of the Jungle is a list of rules that most…

Every story in The Jungle Book prominently features a relationship—or several relationships—between humans and animals. In some of these stories, the relationships are mutually beneficial. For instance, in “Rikki-tikki-tavi,” Teddy, Teddy’s family, and Rikki-tikki-tavi (a mongoose) help one another survive. Teddy saves Rikki-tikki-tavi after his burrow floods and nurses him back to good health. Meanwhile, Rikki-tikki-tavi saves Teddy and his family from the vicious cobras nesting in their garden. However, other relationships between humans…

Kipling’s support for the British Empire is clear throughout the stories of The Jungle Book. In the Mowgli stories, Kipling’s imperialist messaging largely hides beneath the surface. He does not directly address the relationships between Indian and British people. Instead, the stories are morality tales akin to Aesop’s Fables where Mowgli represents the “savage” Indian, while the animals who instruct him, such as Baloo and Bagheera, represent the British imperial order. This parallel…

Many of the stories in The Jungle Book feature a character’s coming-of-age journey. Mowgli is the most prominent example because he is the main character in several of the book’s stories, each of which mark a different milestone in his maturation process. Mowgli begins his narrative arc as an infant who cannot care for himself or even speak. Over the course of the stories, he grows into a young man who is psychologically complex and…